Jagannath

Jagannath (, ; formerly ) is a deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India as part of a triad along with (Krishna's) brother Balabhadra, and his sister, Subhadra.

Jagannath, within Odia Hinduism, is the supreme god, ''Purushottama'', and the ''Para Brahman''. To most Vaishnava Hindus, particularly the Krishnaites, Jagannath is a form of Krishna, sometimes as an avatar of Vishnu. To some Shaiva and Shakta Hindus, he is a symmetry-filled tantric form of Bhairava, a fierce manifestation of Shiva associated with annihilation.

The origin and evolution of Jagannath worship is unclear. Some scholars interpret hymn 10.155.3 of the ''Rigveda'' as a possible origin, but others disagree and state that it is a syncretic/synthetic deity with tribal roots. Jagannathism ( Odia Vaishnavism) — the particular sector of Jagannath as a major deity — emerged in the Early Middle Ages and later became an independent state regional temple-centered tradition of Krishnaism/Vaishnavism. The idol of Jagannath is a carved and decorated wooden stump with large round eyes and a symmetric face, and the idol has a conspicuous absence of hands or legs. The worship procedures, sacraments and rituals associated with Jagannath are syncretic and include rites that are uncommon in Hinduism. Unusually, the icon is made of wood and replaced with a new one at regular intervals.

The English word ''juggernaut'' was the rendition into English of "Jagannath" by early British in India, and came to mean a very large and unstoppable force from accounts of the famous Ratha Yatra processions in Puri.

Jagannath is considered a non-sectarian deity. He is significant regionally in the Indian states of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Gujarat, Assam, Manipur and Tripura. He is also significant to the Hindus of Bangladesh. The Jagannath temple in Puri, Odisha is particularly significant in Vaishnavism, and is regarded as one of the Char Dham pilgrimage sites in India. The Jagannath temple is massive, over high in the Nagara architecture style of Hindu temple architecture, and one of the best surviving specimens of Kalinga architecture, namely Odisha art and architecture. It has been one of the major pilgrimage destinations for Hindus since about 800 CE.

The annual festival called the Ratha yatra celebrated in June or July every year in eastern states of India is dedicated to Jagannath. His image, along with the other two associated deities, is ceremoniously brought out of the sacrosanctum (Garbhagruha) of his chief temple in Puri (, ). They are placed in a temple car which is then pulled by numerous volunteers to the Gundicha Temple (located at a distance of nearly ). They stay there for eight days, and on the 9th day they are returned to the main temple. Coinciding with the Ratha Yatra festival at Puri, similar processions are organized at Jagannath temples throughout the world. It falls on the Dwitiya Tithi, the second day of the bright fortnight of the Sharad Paksha (also called Shukla Paksha), a fortnight of the Hindu lunar month of Asadh. During the festive public procession of Jagannath in Puri, hundreds of thousands of devotees visit Puri to see Jagganath in chariot. Provided by Wikipedia